Anthony Morrow Inks a Deal with Golden State Warriors (original) (raw)

July 25, 2008

If you think Baron Davis' transfer saga to the Los Angeles Clippers was devastating for the Golden State Warriors' organization, you're probably spot-on. But who could have imagined their incredibly high-paced offseason?

Davis has not only opened all kinds of doors for the organization, but has transformed the franchise just like he did when he landed in Oracle Arena in 2005.

Recently I checked out the latest NBA transactions that have taken place. I found that almost all the names that appear on the list have to do with the Warriors', which put a faint smile on my face: Corey Maggette, Ronny Turiaf, Marcus Williams, and the newest face of the Warriors, 23-year-old Anthony Morrow.

Undrafted in the 2008 NBA draft, Morrow has increasingly raised his NBA stocks by playing in three summer leagues so far. In the Rocky Mountain Revue and Las Vegas Summer leagues Morrow appeared on the Warriors' roster, and he has reportedly signed a contract with Golden State.

Morrow is one of the better shooters in the nation out of college. He is best utilized as a catch and shoot guy, while showing a willingness to take big shots and make them.

For all of you Warriors' fans who are terrified of the free throw line on this team, Morrow is a tremendous free throw shooter. He rarely misses from the line.

Morrow, in addition, presents the Warriors with a new lethal shooter. In the Rocky Mountain Revue Summer league, Morrow shot, lights out, 16-of-19 from beyond the arc (74 percent). He also averaged 18.6 points in six games, which includes both the Las Vegas and Rocky Mountain Revue summer leagues.

Not only will he complement the Warriors in their playing style, Don Nelson will let him shoot from the parking lot with the kind of shooting ability he illustrated in the summer league.

In spite of this, from watching the Warriors' recorded summer league games, Morrow does have some weaknesses that need to be mentioned. For a start, he doesn't jump especially well and lacks great explosiveness. Furthermore, his one-on-one skills are poor, an aspect that has to be mentioned, especially in Nellie's matchup realm.

His lack of strength/athleticism makes it difficult for him to finish at the rim as well as create free throw shooting opportunities.This is an area of his game that could really use some improvement, however, it's questionable how much more strength and explosiveness he can add.

On Nellie's team, he will most likely become a back-up for Stephen Jackson or maybe Maggette at the shooting guard or shooting forward positions.

Note

Andres Biedrins has received numerous offers from Europe, the trend that NBA fans are witnessing nowadays. However, it looks like he will not be flying across the globe to play in an "only shooting" league, a talent which he does not own. He is expected to re-sign with the Warriors next week.